Harry Potter and the Dance of the Unicorns
by Emalyn Honeyticket
Summary: Coming back to their fifth year of Hogwarts. What happens when Harry realizes that Ginny is no longer a little girl, Draco breaks Hermione's heart, and Fred has to decide between trickery and true love?
1. Flourish and Blotts

"Hurry up Ginny, get a move on!" Percy yelled, ruffling his fiery red hair and jogging down the busy streets of Diagon Alley. He dodged many young wizards shopping for school supplies being followed by a trail that consisted of four redheads and a boy with exceptionally messy black hair.  
  
"Percy, slow down! There's no rush! Can't you see poor Ginny can't keep up?" Ron Weasley yelled up to his older brother, breathing heavily. Harry Potter was close behind him, and Ginny, Ron's younger sister, struggled a few steps behind them.  
  
"Nonsense. Mum left me to take all of you school shopping and I'm determined to hurry and get it over with!" Percy snapped, his energy level not fading at all, in contrary to the five who followed him. The other two boys, who were right behind Percy and looked older than Ron, also had flaming red hair and looked exactly alike.  
  
"Are we there yet?" the first one, George, said with a hint of annoyance in his voice.  
  
"Because we're getting tired!" Fred whined, as if continuing what George had meant to say. Ginny slowed down a bit, falling a few more steps behind Harry. Seeing this, he took her hand and helped her catch up to the others.  
  
"Flourish and Blotts is about a block away. We should be there soon." Percy said. He kept neatening his red hair as he flew down the streets which were heavily occupied with young wizards holding cages, boxes, and shopping bags.  
  
Each of the Percy's trailers carried a pretty heavy shopping bag containing the school supplies which they had already purchased in one of the many wizarding shops of Diagon Alley. Harry, however, was carrying two bags- one which was his, and the other, which was Ginny's.  
  
Ever since his second year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Harry has been very protective of Ginny, who almost died in only her first year of school. He tried to keep an eye on her, even though she was much more grown up and capable now. Harry was now in his fifth year, along with Ron, his best friend. Ginny was in her fourth, and the twins, Fred and George, were in their seventh and final year at Hogwarts.  
  
Lucky for Ginny, Harry was often keeping her out of trouble. She had liked him ever since she first met him when he first went to Hogwarts.  
  
Harry was almost a member of the Weasley family. All of these redheads had taken him in as often as his aunt and uncle would let him go, which wasn't very often at all. Mrs. Weasley in particular had taken quite a liking to Harry.  
  
The twins suddenly spotted Gambol and Japes, their favorite wizarding joke shop, on their left and wanted to stop.  
  
"Please, Perce!" George pleaded, beginning to breathe heavily.  
  
"We need to restock!" Fred said.   
  
Percy frowned, but nodded, "Fine. I don't feel like arguing with you right now." The twins yelped with joy as they began to run down the steps into the shop, "Flourish and Blotts in fifteen minutes!!" Percy yelled back at them as they left.  
  
Finally, Percy halted and opened the door to Flourish and Blotts, the largest bookstore in all of Diagon Alley. They heard a little bell ring, which was bewitched to do so ever time someone entered, and noticed that the many walls were lined with endless bookshelves that towered clear to the rather high ceiling. Many more young wizards like themselves were picking out their selected books for their next year at Hogwarts.  
  
Percy handed two sheets of parchment, which he had removed from his pocket, to Ginny and Ron, and Harry did the same with his own.  
  
"Come and get me when you've found all of your books. And don't take too long!" Percy walked over to his favorite section, which was devoted entirely to the Ministry of Magic. Percy hoped to get involved with the ministry, and maybe even be the next Cornelius Fudge!  
  
"Look Harry, We've got some new subjects this year!" Ron said, reading down the sheet of parchment, which was his book list for this year at Hogwarts.  
  
"I know, doesn't Immortalization sound like fun?" the three of them turned around when they heard a familiar girl's voice, seeing that it belonged to Harry's fellow fifth year, Hermione Granger. Behind her was a taller girl with light brown hair that held a slight curl.  
  
"Well you must be excited, Hermione!" Harry said sarcastically.  
  
"Of course I am!" she turned a little, and saw the girl behind her, "Oh, this is Emalyn Sweeting. She works here; isn't that delightful! Imagine, working here! I'll have to apply next year!!" Hermione beamed at Emalyn with admiration.  
  
"Harry Potter," Harry shook Emalyn's hand. He noticed the familiar glance to his forehead, which he often got when first meeting people. They all wanted to see the lightening-shaped scar that was given to him by the Dark Lord himself.  
  
"And this is Ron and Ginny Weasley," Hermione said, introducing Emalyn to the two redheads. Ginny smiled shyly, not making much eye contact.  
  
"It's nice to meet all of you." Emalyn said, with a sweet voice, "Do you need any help finding your books?"  
  
"Yeah, I need…" Harry glanced down at his book list and happily said, "Quidditch across the ages!"  
  
"Wait, that's not on my list! Harry you're so lucky to be taking History of Quidditch!" Ron whined, scanning his list for the same book. Emalyn slid a green book with gold edges from the shelf and handed it to Harry.   
  
Suddenly, Fred and George ran into the shop quickly, breathing heavily. They ran up to the five of them, laughing and couching at the same time.   
  
"Did you see the look on his face, Fred?" George said, bending over and laughing harder.  
  
"I do NOT want to know!" Hermione walked away quickly with her stack of books.  
  
"So who might you be?" George asked Emalyn, who was looking at the two of them confusedly.  
  
"That's Emalyn, she's a sixth year who works here," Harry said. Ginny nodded, smiling up at Harry.   
  
"Oh, hello; I'm Fred," George said, holding out his hand.  
  
"Actually, I'm Fred. George here was only kidding," Fred said, hitting George out of the way so he could shake Emalyn's hand.  
  
"Twins; I get it." Emalyn said, laughing a little. Nobody else laughed.  
  
"The trickiest twins on this side of Britain," George said, whacking Fred back out of his way.  
  
"Yeah. More like most annoying," Ginny said, rolling her eyes. Harry elbowed Ginny, and then took her hand, spreading a wide smile across her face. He turned and walked her in the other direction. Ron followed them as well.  
  
"Well, off to get my books. Can't keep Percy dear waiting," George said, winking at Fred and walking over to a shelf that suspiciously said "Joke books".  
  
"So, need help finding anything?" Emalyn asked Fred, who was the only one left of his group.  
  
"Yes thanks," he unfolded his list from his pocket and scanned for a bit, "Umm, Apparating with Aurors."  
  
Emalyn immediately walked down a corridor, Fred close behind. She started scanning the shelves and spoke up, "So you're a 7th year?" She tried to hide the disappointment on her face.  
  
"Yep, I'm surprised I lasted this long. George and I know every trick in the book and got caught just as often." Fred laughed a little.  
  
Emalyn spotted the book that Fred needed and handed it to him, "But only one more year, right?" She smiled at him. Fred smiled and nodded.  
  
For a little while, he just looked at her in an awkward moment of silence. Emalyn noticed this and smiled sweetly.  
  
After what seemed like hours, Fred broke the silence with a very deep, thought provoking question, "What's your name again?"  
  
Emalyn laughed at the quizzical look on his face and replied, "Emalyn Sweeting,"  
  
"Wait a second," Fred smiled and pointed at her, "You're not related to Havelock Sweeting, the unicorn expert, are you?"  
  
"Actually I am; are you interested in unicorns?" Emalyn's face lit up a little.  
  
"Well, yes and no. Unicorns are cool but that's not how I knew about old Havelock." Fred smiled, and Emalyn sent him another confused glare, "I collect Famous Witches and Wizards cards, you know the ones that come in chocolate frogs?" Fred stifled a laugh.  
  
Emalyn found this very humorous, but a little charming too. Fred was honest, something you didn't find too often.   
  
"So her really opened unicorn reserves all over Britain?" Fred asked as the two of them continued to find his books.  
  
"Yep, about 30 of them, all hidden from muggle eye," Emalyn seemed very proud of this fact, "With over 50 unicorn species and breeds."  
  
"Very cool; that must be an amazing sight." Fred commented, taking another book from the shelf and adding it to his pile.  
  
"It's beautiful," Emalyn smiled sweetly at Fred, and her blear blue eyes glowed a little. Fred couldn't help noticing how pretty she was. Her eyes were literally glowing. His gaze was yet again broken when she handed him the last book on his list.  
  
"Okay, Fred, that's all of them!" Emalyn folded up his book list and put it in his shirt pocket, since his hands were full of new books for the school year.   
  
He paid the cashier gladly, and then picked up his books, which were now bundled with string.  
  
Soon Hermione, Ginny, Harry, George and Percy joined him by the front of the store. They all held their bundled purchases happily as they each said good bye to Emalyn. Fred made sure that nobody was listening, then shoved his hands into his pockets and looked into her eyes.  
  
"So, you wanna get some ice cream or something?" Fred asked quietly.  
  
Emalyn smiled, "Oh, I'd love to, but I'm still working, then I have to buy my own school supplies." Fred felt his heart sink, but he forced a smile. Emalyn looked at his pathetic grin and added, "I'll see you at Hogwarts; maybe we can go then."  
  
They just smiled and Fred happily followed Percy and the others out of the store, an extra hop in his step. 


	2. Whisper

After an afternoon of busy shopping, Percy agreed to let everyone stop for some food. Ginny spotted as ice cream and sweet s shop, so the group stopped to sit at a table outside of the shop.  
  
Hermione, who had gladly joined them after they'd left Flourish and Blotts, beamed with joy as she took out a little bag. It was filled with a large amount of sickles and knuts, and even a galleon or two. The bag was marked "Happy Birthday, Hermione".  
  
"So what are you going to buy with that?" Harry said, startling Hermione. She was in her own little world, and was in the middle of thinking.  
  
"You'll see," She stood up and picked up her bags, "Do you want to come with me?"  
  
Ron and Harry got up as well, "Sure we'll come," Ron said, hauling a large shopping bag over his shoulder. While the guys were getting all of their school supplies loaded onto their backs, Hermione walked over to Percy, who was reading one of his new books. Even though Percy didn't attend Hogwarts any longer, he still enjoyed reading the books.   
  
"I need to buy something; can I go with Harry and Ron? We'll be back shortly." Hermione said quietly so Fred and George wouldn't hear. Percy caught on. He knew that they'd want to leave as well.  
  
"Just come back as quickly as you can," he adjusted his spectacles and continued to read. Hermione rounded the table again and met up with Ron and Harry. Hermione headed off to the left path, and they followed her. They wormed through crowds of other young wizards, until Hermione seemed to have found what she was looking for.   
  
They came to a shop with many cages in the window. A little sign hanging over the door read "Eeylops' Owl Emporium".  
  
"You're buying an owl?" Harry said.  
  
"Yes, of course! I always want to talk to you guys over the summer, so my parents suggested that I buy an owl this year! I told them all about them." Hermione beamed as she opened the heavy wooden door. Inside was a wall with many elaborate cages filled with owls of all shapes and sizes. The opposite wall was displaying many different colored boxes-of food, Hermione guessed.   
  
"Hello, May I help you?" A little man with wispy white hair clasped his hands together and walked over to them. Hermione noticed the many scars on his hands- probably from owl bites.  
  
"Yes, I want to buy an owl, a cage and some food. Hermione tried to contain her excitement.   
  
"The owls and cages are on this wall, and the care supplies are over there," He illustrated the map with his hands as he spoke, "Call me if you need any help or make a decision."  
  
Hermione walked right over to the owls. Ron and Harry joined her in peering into each cage to see the owls inside. After looking at quite a few, Hermione spotted one that looked small enough to hold in your hands but large enough to carry packages. She had very fluffy white feathers that almost looked like fur. She was very round and chubby, and made lots of little clicking sounds. Her wide, round eyes were green like Harry's.  
  
"Aww, look at this one! She's so cute!" Hermione pointed at her, and the man opened the cage with a rusty brass key. He stuck his hand into the cage and grabbed the owl's little clawed feet. He lowered her out of the cage and let Hermione take her. She hopped right onto Hermione's forearm, and Hermione held her up with pride.  
  
The owl clicked again and tilted its head. Hermione squealed with joy, jumping a little. At the movement, the owl flapped her wings and flew right onto Harry's wrist. Despite how round and chubby-looking she was, she flew very gracefully. Her little beak was black and stubby.  
  
Harry laughed a little and petted her head, "Wow, she's really soft." The owl looked like it would have smiled at Harry's touch, if it had a mouth instead of a beak, that is.   
  
Ron and Hermione gathered around the little owl and petted her as well. That little owl loved the attention, and she loved Harry.   
  
"Come here!" Hermione called to the owl, who gladly fluttered into her arms, "How much is this one?" she smiled at the little man.  
  
"Aah, she's a beauty. That would be fourteen sickles, and the cage is the same." He said, walking over to the cash register.  
  
Hermione glanced around, her hands quite full with the owl, cage, and the other bags of school things, "Ron dear, could you grab me a box of owl food from over there?" She was tilting over to balance the load, and walked carefully to pay for everything. He gladly ran and picked up a brightly colored box that said "Owl Pellets" on it. He handed it to her just in time for her to pay the man.   
  
Once she had paid for everything, she put the owl in her new cage, and picked everything up, but with great difficulty.   
  
"Herm, you want me to carry something for you?" Ron raised his eyebrows, looking at all of the stuff that Hermione was trying to carry.   
  
"Nope, I've got it under control!" She took a step and shifted her weight to keep everything for toppling down on top of her. Ron held out his hands and took a few bags from her. She smiled at him and winked a little bit, and then they all walked out of Eeylops'.   
  
They walked down the stone pathways back to the ice cream and sweets shop that the others had stopped at. They walked up to Percy, Ginny, Fred, and George, who were quickly finishing up their ice cream.   
  
Percy got up first and starting picking up all of his stuff, "Come on, we've got to be getting home," he said, brushing off the table.  
  
Everyone helped each other get everything, then they walked down Diagon Alley, lead by Percy. He walked up to a brick wall, tapped a few bricks with his wand, and the wall parted to let them through. On the other side was the leaky cauldron, a bar and restaurant.   
  
They were dodging people and tables when Ginny screamed, "My purse! I must have left it at the ice cream shop!" She was frantically searching through her bags, but with no luck.  
  
Ron, Fred and George groaned, and Harry spoke up, "I'll run and get it,"   
  
"Me too" Percy said, putting his and Harry's bags on an empty table, "Hermione, I'm leaving you in charge!"  
  
Fred and George looked at each other, and then glared at Percy, "Hey! We're the oldest!"  
  
"Yes but that doesn't mean you're responsible. Hermione will keep all of you in line and you two especially," Percy pointed at the twins, and then ran after Harry, without giving them a chance to respond.  
  
"Fake wand?" George whispered to Fred.  
  
"You bet." Fred laughed.  
  
The two of them headed back to the brick wall, and a tall, large bearded man met them at their table, "Hey! How are ya?" he asked them, smiling.  
  
"Hagrid! Look!" Hermione held up her owl, which was happily gnawing on the bars of her cage.  
  
"Isn't she cute?" Ginny said, poking her head near the owl's cage.  
  
"Aww! She's beautiful!" Hagrid cooed, poking a thick finger through the bars, "What's 'er name?"   
  
"I haven't thought about that yet." Hermione said, putting the cage down on the table.  
  
"I can come up with something!" Ginny said.  
  
"NO you won't. You named Pig when I got him, let Hermione name hers." Ron said, glaring at Ginny.  
  
"It's Pigwidgeon," she glared back, "and fine, she can decide."  
  
"Wow about Buckbeak?" Hagrid said, slamming a fist the size of a volleyball to his chest, "Bless 'is soul."  
  
"Whisper," Hermione said proudly.  
  
Ron whispered to Hermione, "Herm, why are we whispering?"  
  
"No, Ron, I'm naming her Whisper." She said, petting whisper through the bars of her cage. Ron's facial expression said "I knew that."  
  
"Got it!" Harry ran in, followed by Percy. Harry handed the bag to Ginny and she smiled at him.  
  
"Thank you so much!" she hugged him and closed her eyes when he hugged her back.  
  
"Well, now that we're all set, we have to get back to the Burrow." Percy said, trying to sound patient. HE adjusted his small glasses that sat on his pink, freckled face.  
  
"Bye Hagrid!" everyone said, picking up their things.  
  
"See you at Hogwarts!" he called to the group, who made their way out of the Leaky Cauldron.  
  
Their journey home was rather like their trip through Diagon Alley; rather rushed and stressful. They got to Mr. Weasley's car, loaded the bags of books and supplies in the trunks, and got in.   
  
"Seatbelts!" Percy said, pushing a button. All of the belts automatically buckled themselves. Hermione sat between Harry and Ron in the way back, with Whisper's cage sitting on her lap.  
  
"I wonder what's new about Hogwarts this year! Dumbledore usually comes up with something," Ron said. Fred and George were playing catch with a stuffed bludger in the next row.  
  
"I saw Pansy Parkinson in Flourish and Blotts, and she said she heard we were having a party!" Hermione said.   
  
"A party? Why?" Ron said, and Harry looked confused as well.  
  
"Okay, everyone out." They felt the car stop, and they saw that they'd arrived at the Burrow, the Weasley's house.  
  
Everyone unloaded their bags and brought them into the house. By the time everyone had completely packed for Hogwarts, it was bedtime.  
  
Ron and Harry were sitting in Ron's bedroom. Harry had a cot on the floor, and was cleaning up his Firebolt with the kit that Hermione had given him years ago. Suddenly, they heard a knock on the door. Ron and Harry got up and answered it, to see Hermione and Ginny in their pajamas.  
  
"Good night! Remember, it's bright and early to catch the Hogwarts Express tomorrow!" Hermione hugged each of them goodnight, then Ginny walked up to Harry.   
  
"Night Harry!" She said. He smiled at her, wrapped his arms around her and kissed her cheek. Ron grimaced as the girls left the room, waving.  
  
"Harry, why are you always so um, 'friendly' with Ginny?" he looked rather uncomfortable.  
  
"I'm not sure," Harry said, returning to his broom servicing kit. Ron followed him and stubbornly insisted on questioning him.  
  
Harry thought for a moment, and then spoke up, "I've always felt like I was obligated to look after her, make sure she was safe. But recently, I felt like I wanted to, not that I had to," Harry looked at Ron with his green eyes, "She's not such a little girl anymore…" 


	3. The Rose

"RON!" the familiar voice of Mrs. Weasley filled King's Cross train station as six frantic wizards pushing carts of trunks, cages, and robes ran to the portal to Platform 9 3/4, the Hogwarts Express. Well, six minus one since Ron had stopped to examine a muggle shop.  
  
"RONALD WEASLEY, If you don't get down here this instant I'll-" She noticed that a bunch of muggles were staring at her, "-I mean, you'll miss your train, dear!" she spoke in a sweet, light tone this time, for fear that they'd suspect something.  
  
Ron caught up with them just in time to see Fred and George casually dissolve through a brick wall. Ginny went soon after, then Hermione, then Harry.  
  
"Go on, Ron." Mrs. Weasley whispered, looking around. She didn't want to attract any more unwanted attention. She pushed him lightly, and he jogged through the brick wall.   
  
When he had met his friends and family on the other side of the Platform, many of the students had already boarded. Unfortunately, they were making a habit of getting onto the train late. They'd only missed it once, though. They all loaded their things onto the train, and then looked around for an empty cabin. All of them frantically searched for one, but with hardly any luck. Most of the cabins were filled to their maximum with cheerful wizards ready to go back to school.  
  
Hermione, who had run up ahead, spotted a cabin with a single wizard inside spoke up, "Look guys, I found-" She noticed that the person inside was Emalyn Sweeting, the girl they had met in Flourish and Blotts, "Emalyn, dear, so good to see you again!"   
  
Fred soon followed Hermione in and his face glowed when he saw her. The others came in as well, and started putting their carry-on luggage in the cubbies over the benches.   
  
"Hi everyone, it's great to see you all again!" Emalyn slid over as Fred, George, and Hermione sat down next to her.  
  
Harry, Ginny, and Ron sat down on the other bench, Ginny brimming with happiness as Harry sat next to her. Somehow, Harry's arm had ended up around her waist. Seeing this movement, Ron elbowed Harry in the ribs.  
  
Just as the train moved out of the station, Emalyn reached into her purse and pulled out a small stack of photos.   
  
"Look, these are some of my unicorns," She held them out to Fred, who looked at them carefully.  
  
The first one was a silvery color, and was running in a field. It was taken during the night and the many glistening stars were reflecting off of its shiny coat. He was moving around inside the frame and had a tall, iridescent horn protruding from his head.   
  
"Wow, you took these?" Fred asked, flipping to the next photo.  
  
"Yeah, they're used to me being there so they don't get afraid," She smiled.  
  
The next photo was of two little babies. Their fur was bright gold, and their horns were only a few inches long. They were playfully smashing their heads together.  
  
Emalyn pointed at them, "They're gold when they're born and silver when they're middle-aged. They only turn white when they're very old."  
  
"They're so pretty! Hermione was leaning over Fred's shoulder with fluffy little Whisper sitting on her lap. She scooted up a little bit, and the little owl fluttered into the air.  
  
"Oh, Whisper, come back here!" Hermione turned her gaze from the photos to her owl, who glided on her little wings, landing in Harry's lap.  
  
When Whisper landed on him, he took his arm from around Ginny's waist to the little owl, holding her in his arms.   
  
He laughed, and petted Whisper's fluffy white feathers. She buried her head in Harry's chest and cuddled up in his arms.  
  
"I think she likes me," Harry laughed as she fell asleep on him. Ginny sighed.  
  
'I'm not jealous of a bird. I'm not…' she thought to herself, biting her lip.  
  
Hermione didn't bother to put Whisper back in her cage, but continued to look at Emalyn's pictures.  
  
"Ooh, which one is this?" Fred asked. The unicorn was silvery and had glowing blue eyes that filled him with warmth.   
  
"Oh, she's a special one," Emalyn smiled.. Fred searched her face for a clue, but before he could ask her, they heard a bell and a few squeaky wheels rolling outside the door.   
  
"Anything off of the trolley, dears?" the witch rolling the snack cart said.  
  
"Mmmm, yes!" they all said. Together, they gathered around the trolley and started picking out many different kinds of candy.  
  
"Granger…" Hermione heard someone whisper her name from out in the hallway. After a pause, she heard the same voice again, "Come here."  
  
She sneaked behind the snack cart and out into the hallway. Hermione looked around, but didn't see anyone. She began to walk down the hall.  
  
When she neared another doorway, the voice jumped out at her, but louder this time, "In here!" She walked into the doorway that the voice had come from, and what the shadowy figure who stood in the corner surprised her.  
  
"Malfoy?" Hermione gaped at the person who stood in front of her. He was a lot taller, now towering over her, and he had cut his silvery-blond hair shorter. Instead of being gelled-back and greasy, his hair was short and spiked up in different directions. Hermione couldn't help but think that he'd gotten better-looking over the summer.  
  
"So have you heard the news about the party?" he asked her, the usual evil snicker absent from his deep but friendly voice.  
  
"Yes, just a few rumors though." Hermione said, still studying him.  
  
"It's to congratulate our school for winning the Triwizard Tournament last year, and it's tonight a few hours after the sorting." He said. Hermione noticed that he was rummaging at something in his pocket.  
  
"Oh, I didn't realize that it would be right away," Hermione said, "I haven't even thought about who I'd go with."  
  
Draco removed a chocolate frog from his pocket and walked closer to Hermione. He held it out to her, and she smiled.  
  
"Is it for me?" she asked, pointing at it but looking into his light blue eyes. He nodded, then with one swift motion, he drew his wand from his robes and tapped the frog with it. It then transfigured into a beautiful single red rose. He handed it to her, and she smiled shyly as she took it.   
  
"Whatever our differences, and the turmoil in our pasts, I'm sorry and I'd be deeply honored if you'd be my date to the party," he looked deeply into her chocolate brown eyes in such a way that she couldn't look away no matter how hard she tried.   
  
Hermione was speechless. The last thing she'd expected when she left for Hogwarts was for Draco Malfoy, the Slytherin who always tried to make her life miserable, to ask her out like it's no big change.  
  
Draco didn't waste time waiting for her answer, he just leaned in and kissed her lips. When he pulled away slowly, she had a look of shock but pure content on her face. Draco had never even shown a sign that he could even stand her.  
  
"I know we haven't been the best of friends, but I spent the whole summer re-thinking my life and well, you just jumped out at me." He said.   
  
"Alright, Malfoy, I'll go to the party with you." Hermione said. She had meant to sound more annoyed but the kiss had weakened her knees and she ended up sounding like a lovesick puppy. She couldn't help it; he was very charming. She rotated the rose's stem in her fingers.  
  
"Thank you," Draco's normally angry face mutated into a genuine smile that Hermione had never seen him wear before. Hermione was still recovering from shock, just gazing into those eyes… He looked… cute.  
  
Draco brought his hand to her shoulder, then leaned close to her and kissed her on the cheek. He began to walk out of the car, but turned around and said one last thing, "You have no idea how much this means to me."  
  
She smiled sweetly and watched him walk out of the cabin, then sat down on one of the benches, gazing at the rose he had given her. No sooner than she'd sat down, Ron and Harry came in.  
  
"Hermione, there you are!" Harry said, walking in. Once they'd completely made their way through the door, Hermione noticed that Ginny was also with them, clinging to Harry's arm.  
  
"We saved you some candy-" Ron reached out a fistful of sweets, and handed them to her, seeing the beautiful red rose that she held in her hand.   
  
"Who gave you that?" Ginny asked, a bit jealous.  
  
"Has Hermione got a boyfriend?" Ron laughed.  
  
Hermione blushed, "It's Draco," she smiled shyly.  
  
In a fraction of a second, Harry's face was filled with fury. Ginny smirked, pulling closer to Harry, and Ron was shocked, his mouth hanging open.   
  
"Malfoy?!?" Ron and Harry said in unison.  
  
"Alright, where is he and what is he trying to pull?" Ron pushed up his sleeves, trying to look threatening.   
  
"He's being nice for once, why don't you let him! He's changed, guys." Hermione stood up, holding the rose tightly. It felt strange for her to stand up for Draco, since he was usually making fun of her.  
  
"We're just protecting you, you know Draco isn't one to be well, nice," Harry said.  
  
"Just be careful, you never know what he's going to do next." Ron said with a hint of disappointment in his voice.  
  
"Thanks, guys," Hermione smiled. They all walked from the cabin into the hallway, and headed back to their original cabin.  
  
"It's weird though, why would he suddenly be so nice to me?" Hermione asked, still twirling the rose stem in her fingers.  
  
"And he gave you a rose," Ron was as confused as Hermione, and thought out loud.  
  
Hermione grinned, and looked at her feet, "That's not all he gave me."  
  
"Oh my god!" Ginny squealed, and pointed at her lips. Hermione nodded, smiling, and Ron noticed this.  
  
"THAT SLIMEBAG KISSED YOU?!?!?" Ron's face turned dark purple and he was shouting so loudly that everyone in the area turned to look at them.   
  
"Something is DEFINETELY up with him," Harry said.  
  
"Was it good???" Ginny perked up and smiled.  
  
"Ginny!" Ron squeaked, giving her the evil eye.  
  
Hermione's grin got wider, "Yes, it was VERY good."  
  
Ron frowned, and so did Harry. The two boys walked ahead, leaving the girls alone.  
  
Ginny waited for them to walk out of sight, then whined to Hermione, "Lucky! Harry would never kiss me; he's too afraid that Ron would kill him."  
  
"All I can say is that I can't wait until tonight," Hermione said, smiling to herself and twirling the rose in her fingers. 


	4. The Great Hall

"Come on, they're unloading the train!" Hermione was wrapping a scarf around her neck that sported the Gryffindor colors. She picked up Whisper's cage and her small carry on bag, and then walked out of the cabin.  
  
Fred and George were busily packing their extra sweets into their bags for later, and Emalyn was checking that she hadn't forgotten anything.  
  
"All set, Ginny?" Harry said, helping her get the last of her things packed into her bag. Ron was buttoning up his Gryffindor robes. Ron, Harry, and Ginny finished up packing and headed out the door after Hermione.  
  
They joined the crowded halls of the train on their way outside, pushing along with the current of Hogwarts Students. As Hermione slowly made her way to the front of the train, she brushed past Draco. Knowing that Harry and Ron were nearby, she just smiled at him. He smiled back and winked at her. They finally reached the door and hopped out onto the curb one by one.  
  
"First years come this way!" Hagrid boomed. He was standing by the lake and towered over all of the students.   
  
All of the wizards filed out of Hogsmeade station and into Hogwarts School. As they entered the castle, Professor McGonacall was standing at the top of the stairs and the doorway to the great hall was wide open, calling the students in for their first feast of the school year.  
  
"You may go to your dorms quickly to drop off your things, but return to the Great Hall quickly please, or the Sorting Ceremony will go on without you." She said, tipping the brim of her very tall witch hat.   
  
Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny quickly climbed up seven floors in the Grand Staircase, and ran down the hallway to a wall where a large painting hung. In the portrait was a rather fat lady wearing a pink dress and a cross expression.  
  
"Password," she said in a rather unenthusiastic tone.  
  
"Moldwarp," Hermione said, reading off of a piece of paper that McGonacall had handed to her. The whole painting swung open like a door, revealing a small hole which they each crawled through. Inside was the familiar and warm Gryffindor common room. Once they'd entered the common room, they walked through the doorway to the dorm stairs. They all started on their way up.  
  
"Ginny!" Harry called up to the red-haired girl who was a few steps ahead of him. She turned around, smiling, and stopped hopping up the steps. Harry kept walking until he was two steps below her. Ginny looked down a bit, and he smiled up at her, adjusting his round, black glasses.  
  
"Yes, Harry?" she smiled sweetly at him and gazed into his emerald green eyes.  
  
"The party tonight," Harry looked at her hand, which was resting on the railing, then took it in his, "Would you be my date?"  
  
She smiled and nodded," I thought you'd never ask," she stepped down one step so they were eye-to-eye and had no more steps separating them.  
  
Harry found himself looking into her eyes, and Ginny smiled a little more, not daring to break the lock. 'Come on, Harry! Come on!' she thought.  
  
Harry cupped her face in his hands, and moved in closer. She felt herself overcome with happiness and slowly closed her blue eyes, waiting to feel his lips on hers at last. At the last second, Harry moved up and kissed her forehead.  
  
He smiled at her, and then ran up to his dorm. Ginny opened her eyes and groaned once he'd left. She went up the stairs the opposite way, into the dorm which she shared with Hermione.  
  
Hermione was in the dorm, placing Whisper's cage up on the window ledge. She glanced out the window and smiled when she saw Slytherin tower, which was in plain view. She was broken from her trance and looked up when Ginny walked into the room.  
  
"Harry asked me to the party!" Ginny said, sitting down on her bed.  
  
"I'm meeting Draco tonight. He said that he'd let me know where when we go down to the Great Hall, so we should hurry up and get down there!!" Hermione was busily shutting her carry-on bag and scarf into her trunk that sat at the foot of her red canopy bed. The two of them fled from the dorm rooms and down the curling stairway.  
  
They crawled out of the portrait hole, not waiting for Ron and Harry to come down as well. Running down the halls, Hermione turned a quick corner and standing around a sharp corner was Draco. He was leaning up against the wall and smiling, as if he knew that Hermione was coming.  
  
"I missed you," Draco said, smiling at Hermione. Ginny giggled to herself and kept walking slowly so she could watch.  
  
"So where are we meeting tonight?" Hermione asked. Draco wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her close, gazing into her eyes.  
  
"Dumbledore's announcing the time at the Sorting Ceremony, so I'll let you know afterwards." He said.  
  
"Okay," Hermione smiled. Draco closed his eyes, slid her closer to him with his arms, and kissed her for a few seconds.  
  
Just as their lips met, Hermione smiled against his lips and Ron turned the corner. He stopped, stared, and his mouth dropped open as he felt his face burn. Harry soon followed and reacted similarly.  
  
Ron just couldn't watch any longer, realizing that he'd have to leave. He pushed through everyone, walking over to Ginny.  
  
"Come on, we'll miss the ceremony," he whispered in Ginny's ear and pulled her downstairs by her arm. Harry stood alone, watching Draco and Hermione.  
  
After what seemed like hours, the silence exploding through the hall, Draco released her lips with one final flick of his tongue.  
  
He smiled at her genuinely and she smiled back, licking the last of his taste from her lips. Draco kissed her forehead, brushing her thick, brown hair back.  
  
He turned to face Harry, who was still staring in disbelief. Expecting to hear an insult, Harry squinted when Draco walked over to him.  
  
Draco nodded, no expression on his face, "Potter," he said. Harry raised an eyebrow as Draco walked off, winking at Hermione.  
  
Harry approached Hermione, who was blinking furiously with a giddy, childish smile across her lips.  
  
"Okay, let me get this straight; before today you wanted to kill each other, but now you're publicly displaying affection?" Harry said, rather scared by the visuals.  
  
"Draco is a sweetheart," Hermione said.  
  
Harry just shook his head, not knowing what to say. They quickly walked down to the Great Hall, just in time for Dumbledore's announcements.  
  
They sat at one end of the Gryffindor table with their fellow house members and peered up at the tall wizard who stood at the head of four long tables packed with students.  
  
"Welcome to another year at Hogwarts! I'm pleased to begin what looks like another eventful year. In celebration of a Hogwarts victory at the Triwizard Tournament last year," Dumbledore significantly hushed his hoarse voice, "And in memory of the late Cedric Diggory, I'm pleased to announce that we will be having a party tonight for all students. Professor McGonacall?" Dumbledore turned the floor to another older witch with a tall, crooked pointy hat.  
  
"The party will begin at 6'o clock tonight and end at 11 pm. Listen carefully to find out where you should go for your party. First, second, and third years will go to the fourth floor ballroom and fourth years and older will go to the eighth floor ballroom. We will serve dinner and music, but every student must be back in their dorms by midnight, or they must deal with me," McGonacall said, sitting back down at the staff table behind Dumbledore.  
  
Dumbledore took his stand once again, "Let the feast begin!" Many hungry students marveled as platefuls of roast beef and potatoes appeared in front of them. Throughout the whole meal however, Hermione wasn't herself.  
  
"My first class tomorrow is History of Quidditch!" Harry said, looking at his new schedule.  
  
"I heard it was only for upperclassmen, but they made an excuse for you, Harry. It must be hard!" Seamus Finnigan said, shoveling potatoes into his mouth. He was another fifth year Gryffindor.  
  
"I bet Hermione knows!" Ron said, tapping her on the shoulder.  
  
She babbled for a little while, staring over at the Slytherin table. She kept saying "Is it 6:00 yet?"  
  
Harry checked his watch for the tenth time, "No, Hermione!"  
  
"He's turning you into a complete zombie! I miss the old Hermione who wouldn't shut up." Ron said, as everyone turned to stare at him. He lowered his head in his hands and said quietly, "I can't believe I just said that."  
  
"You're just jealous," Hermione muttered.  
  
Ron was speechless. He was jealous… 


End file.
